ng Connect Solution Concept Series

The BSL office has felt noticeably quiet this last week and a half, as many of us have been sporadically swept offsite to participate in a series of videos for our clients at ng Connect.

In this new world of network-driven content, the Solution Concept video series will illustrate how demand is the driving force behind emerging opportunities in consumer technologies and solutions. Each video details how the multi-partner, multi-discipline ecosystem approach of ng Connect is ideal – not only for conceiving and developing solution concepts, but for quickly evolving them from ideation to market reality. If commercialized, these solutions have the potential to revolutionize a great many industries, from professional photography to advertising to perhaps most critically – our health sector.

A significant project in scope, the video series recently graduated from the months-long planning stage, and was quickly kick-started into production. Shooting a series of three videos, that require multiple days and locations for each, is not easy. The project has required a sizeable expansion in the number of hands on deck, and the BSL Video Team has been expanded for the occasion.

Throughout the shoots, BSL has spared no opportunity to take advantage of the new toys in our video department. All three videos are being shot with the Canon 5D, and to convey the journalistic approach the series calls for, the camera (along with BSL Motion Media Director Sean Cusson) has been strapped to the Steadi-cam for days (a handy tool for creating a smooth ‘spectator’ look and feel for each shot). The project has also required the recruitment of some outside talent including a Productions Manager, Sound Technician and Locations Manager, to further ensure high-quality production from all angles.

The team is at it again today, with all shooting scheduled to be fully wrapped by next week. Several of us were lucky enough to be part of the big project, and have been capturing the moments on Flickr as they happen.

Going Once, Going Twice…

BSL struck the ol’ proverbial gavel this week, in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Network. Breaks for Breast Cancer is a nationwide event that encourages companies across the country to host an office-wide coffee break and ask for donations in exchange for coffee and baked goods.

BSL saw this as a gleaming opportunity to stage one of our classic bake sale/auction bonanzas, to give our donations a little boost. Having previously hosted such events to support the United Way, these auctions require several of us to slave in our kitchens the night before, to produce an excessive spread of delicious treats on which the staff can grossly overbid.

This year welcomed the usual (albeit impressive) range of baking mastery from the employees – the temptation of which was greatly enhanced by our seasoned auctioneer, Ms. Carolyn Eaves. Carolyn knows how to strike that perfect balance between selling both the product and the cause itself – a balance that had some staff bidding up to $80 in one shot!

We are please to report that the event was a smashing success - despite a palpable office-wide sugar crash later that day. But it was all worth it to be able to support such a critical cause. Breast cancer is a startlingly common disease, affecting virtually everyone – family members, friends, co-workers, and of course the brave fighters themselves. Showing our support was a no-brainer.

And as the daughter of a woman who just recently kicked her cancer to the curb, I can tell you I did not think twice about paying 15 bucks for a cupcake.

Bridging the Gap

This week we helped Alcatel-Lucent launch the official website for their new brand Optism, a game-changing solution for the mobile advertising industry. With many key players involved in the game, Optism was created to leverage the opportunities that lie within the valuable network/subscriber relationship, and pave the way for true one-to-one advertising, by way of a little something called Permission Marketing.

Permission Marketing begins with network operators adding value for their subscribers in exchange for submitting more personal information, which operators can then translate into an audience profile. As part of the exchange for a greater network value, subscribers are then asked to opt in to receive advertising that specifically suits their needs and wants, based on their customer profile.

For advertisers, this is highly appetizing. Permission Marketing in the mobile space is making the dream of one-to-one advertising become a reality. Marketers have long fantasized about being able to speak directly to their customer, and now that network operators are able to harvest this inventory of valuable and volunteered audience information – the relationship between customer and advertiser just got a whole lot closer.

Optism forms partnerships with leading agencies, brands and mobile operators worldwide, to ensure that each link grabs its place in the value-chain. Operators benefit from a stronger relationship with their subscriber while generating revenue from this new advertising inventory. Advertisers are able to engage one-on-one with a receptive audience, through interactive and measurable campaigns. And finally the subscriber is benefitting from a network relationship that now offers them greater value, while being targeted by advertising that is tailored specifically to them, without the extra clutter.

Everyone wants a piece of the mobile ad pie, and Optism is serving everyone up a slice. Check out their website that was branded, designed and developed by BSL.